Palestinians carry the body of Uday Qadous who was shot and killed by an Israeli settler near the village Iraq Burin in the occupied West Bank on 27 January

Israeli settlers shot and killed two Palestinian teenagers in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank as Israeli forces continued to shoot at Palestinian laborers in Gaza and arrest and beat civilians in other parts of the country, including children. The Electronic Intifada brings you this special news brief on events related to Israeli violence against Palestinians.Iraq Burin An Israeli settler allegedly from the illegal Barkha settlement shot and killed 19-year-old Uday Qadous after they engaged in a verbal altercation, on 27 January in the northern West Bank village of Iraq Burin, near Nablus. Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq investigated the shooting and stated that Uday and his cousin, Umar, were working in their fields when Uday went looking for some of their sheep that had gone missing (“Updates on the Killing of Udayy Qadoush by a Settler in Iraq Bourin,” 1 February 2011). “Shortly after, Umar became worried about his cousin and went to look for him in the fields,” Al Haq stated. “He found Uday standing near an unpaved military road (connecting Barkha settlement and the local military base) and a settler was standing opposite him, about 10 meters away; the two were quarreling verbally.” “As they moved away, Umar could no longer see them but heard a bullet shot and saw the settler running away from the scene of the incident. The settler had a light-complexion, blonde hair and wearing a Kippa, carrying a black backpack and a pistol on the side of his waist,” Al Haq reported. The shooting was caught on Israeli military cameras, and was made public on YouTube (IDF Camera 28-Jan-2011: Israeli Settler Kill a Palestinian (Uday Qadous) in Iraq Burin). The brief video appears to show Uday fall to the ground suddenly as he is moving away from the settler. Medical officials in the Rafadiya hospital in Nablus confirmed that Qadous was shot at point-blank range in the upper torso, with a bullet ripping through his lung, Ma’an news agency reported (“Autopsy on teen slain by settler completed,” 28 January 2011).Beit Ommar The next day in the southern West Bank village of Beit Ommar, a large group of Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal Bat Ayn settlement descended on the outskirts of the village and opened fire. Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl, aged 17, was shot in the head while standing in his family’s vineyard. Another 16-year-old boy from Beit Ommar was shot in the arm, but survived the attack. Ikhlayl remained brain-dead in a hospital in Hebron before succumbing to his wounds early the next morning, according to Beit Ommar-based activism group Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP). PSP reported that at least 100 settlers took part in Friday’s attack, which began when armed members of the group began firing at Palestinian homes in the Saffa area adjacent to Beit Ommar. At the same time, PSP added, other settlers opened fire in the Jodor neighborhood, where Ikhlayl was standing (“Beit Ommar youth killed by Israeli settlers,” 28 January 2011). Dozens of villagers from Beit Ommar and nearby Surif immediately came to the area “to defend their communities,” PSP stated, adding that seven Israeli military jeeps arrived and “escorted the settlers back to Bay Ayn [settlement].” Ikhlayl was recently a participant in a youth photography class sponsored by the village-based Center for Freedom and Justice, and had been active with PSP in educational projects and community service-oriented initiatives. Bekah Wolf, co-founder of PSP, worked closely with Ikhlayl and stated in the press release that “Yousef was a kid who hoped for a better future for Palestine.” Wolf continued, “His life was ended prematurely by right-wing extremists. People around the world should be outraged by his shooting, and should work to bring his attackers to justice.” Approximately 10,000 people filled the streets of Beit Ommar as residents carried Ikhlayl’s body and held Palestinian flags in his funeral on 29 January, PSP reported. As the crowd marched closer to the Israeli sniper tower at the entrance to the village, on their way to the cemetery, Israeli soldiers attacked the funeral procession with sound grenades and tear gas canisters, while some residents threw stones at the fortified tower (“Funeral of Yousef Ikhlayl attacked by Israeli military, dozens injured,” 29 January 2011). Soon afterwards, Israeli military jeeps arrived and soldiers “began shooting live [ammunition] and rubber bullets,” PSP added. “Most of the crowd dispersed at this point, carrying the injured people away. Several residents stayed and continued to confront the occupying army with stones.” Dozens were wounded in the attacks. PSP reported that Israeli soldiers also fired on a Palestinian ambulance attempting to give medical relief to an injured person. Days before Ikhlayl’s killing, settlers from the same illegal settlement destroyed several hundred olive trees in Beit Ommar, PSP stated (“Settlers destroy more trees in Beit Ommar,” 28 January 2011). Earlier in the week, on 27 January, the Israeli military arrested two young boys from Beit Ommar. PSP reported that 11-year-old Hamza Ahmed Abu Hashem and 12-year-old Bilal Mahmood Awad were arrested while they played soccer near their homes (“Israeli forces arrest two Palestinian boys ages 11 and 12 in Beit Ommar,” 27 January 2011). “Bilal and Hamza were taken to the nearby Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur and then transferred to the police station in Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron,” PSP stated. Hamza is the son of a community activist with the Beit Ommar-based National Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, a group that organizes weekly unarmed demonstrations against the Israeli occupation and the encroaching settlements. At press time, PSP said that Hamza was released but Bilal was still being held in Israeli detention. Bekah Wolf told The Electronic Intifada that on 3 February, another two Palestinian youths were arrested by Israeli soldiers, who detained them at Karmei Tsur settlement. Both of the boys are 17 years-old, according to Wolf. Family members of one of the youths were badly beaten, she reported, when the soldiers entered their house. PSP members were also assaulted by Israeli soldiers when they attempted to find out information about the two boys. Another 26-year-old man was arrested also on 3 February by Israeli soldiers at the entrance to Beit Ommar, Wolf added.Nabi Saleh Israeli soldiers also arrested several Palestinian children in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh last week according to a report from The International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC). On Sunday, 23 January, Israeli forces arrested 14-year-old Islam al-Tamimi in a pre-dawn raid, IMEMC reported (“An-Nabi Saleh Popular Committee Leader Beaten, Two Children Arrested,” 26 January 2011). The report added that this was the second time in three weeks that Islam was arrested, and was interrogated for eight hours during his detention last week. Islam was “denied access to legal counsel for the first five hours, during which he confessed to throwing stones during the weekly protest against the annexation wall,” IMEMC reported, “and his parents were denied access to their son during the interrogation; their legal right.” Islam’s brother, 10-year-old Karim al-Tamini, was arrested on Tuesday, IMEMC reported, but was released after seven hours in custody. On 26 January, the Israeli military arrested two 15-year-old boys along with Bassem Tamimi, leader of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Nabi Saleh, IMEMC stated. Joseph Dana, independent journalist, contributor to The Electronic Intifada, and media coordinator for the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, reported that Israeli forces applied torture techniques on Islam al-Tamimi during the interrogation (“Harsh interrogations of children escalate in Nabi Saleh,” 31 January 2011).Jordan Valley Israeli soldiers beat and arrested a 19-year-old Palestinian farmer in the Hadidiya region of the northern Jordan Valley as he grazed his livestock, the Jordan Valley Solidarity Project (JVSP) reported on 2 February (“A young man beaten and kidnapped by soldiers in Hadidiya”). After being beaten by the soldiers, Ghazi Bsharat was taken to a nearby military detention center and released several hours later. JVSP also reported that approximately 30 Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Maskiyot attacked Palestinians in Ein al Helwe, also in the northern Jordan Valley, on 29 January. A woman and her 11-year-old daughter were beaten and threatened with future violence in what residents say are attempts by settlers to force Palestinians to leave the area (“New settler aggression in Ein Il Hilwe,” 29 January 2011).Silwan, Occupied East Jerusalem The Wadi Hilweh Information Center (SILWANIC) reported that Israeli forces set a Palestinian home on fire on Friday, 28 January, after they fired rounds of tear gas canisters inside the house, located in the Baten al-Hawa area of Silwan (“Palestinian home set ablaze under volleys of tear gas,” 28 January 2011). Following the destruction of the home, Israeli security services, including police, opened fire on Palestinian residents who protested the presence of the armed forces. SILWANIC reported that a 12-year-old boy was injured when a rubber bullet hit him in his face. Later on, as protests intensified in the Baten al-Hawa area, SILWANIC reported that Israeli settlers “joined the violence” perpetrated by the Israeli armed forces, while Palestinian youth threw molotov cocktails at soldiers who had occupied the roof of a nearby home. Fire bombs were also hurled at the illegal Beit Yonatan settlement inside the neighborhood (“Youth aim Molotovs at soldiers on occupied roof,” 28 January 2011).Gaza Strip Israeli snipers stationed along the Gaza boundary opened fire on a 21-year-old Palestinian man on 31 January, The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) reported (“Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” 27 January - 2 February 2011). Israeli soldiers inside sniper towers near Beit Lahiya town “fired at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of ‘Elli Sinai’ used to stand,” PCHR reported. “Mohammed Zakaria Halawa, 21, from Jabalya, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 150 meters away from the border,” PCHR added. Rising poverty and the 4-year-long Israeli blockade in the occupied Gaza Strip has forced many Palestinian laborers to collect raw industrial material and rubble from areas near the “buffer zone,” a 300-meter-long militarized area along the northern, eastern and maritime boundaries. As The Electronic Intifada has reported, more than 100 Palestinians have been shot since March 2010 while collecting material to use for industrial construction. Israel’s blockade has severely restricted the import of construction materials into Gaza. On 2 February, Israeli warplanes bombed tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border, reported Agence-France Presse (AFP). The Israeli military claimed its aerial attacks were in response to Palestinian-fired homemade rockets on Monday night, which landed across the boundary and caused no injuries. No one was injured in the Israeli airstrike (“Israeli planes hit Gaza tunnels, no casualties,” 2 February 2011).Dhammash Finally, in the village of Dhammash, near Tel Aviv, Israeli police arrested and severely beat members of the Shaaban family on 22 January, accusing them of “harboring illegal workers,” according to a report by independent journalist Max Blumenthal (“‘The days of ‘48 have come again.’ 15 minutes from Tel Aviv, Israel creates a new refugee camp,” 26 January 2011). Police in the town of Lydd, “violently arrested Ali, Farida, and five members of [the Shaaban] family,” Blumenthal reported, adding that their detention was unknown until the following Monday, two days later. A judge then extended their imprisonment until the following Thursday “on the grounds of secret evidence the Shaaban family’s lawyer was not allowed to view — a tactic familiar to Israel’s military courts in the West Bank.” A mobile phone video posted on YouTube showed Israeli police beating members of the Shaaban family. For more than a year, the Palestinian residents of Dhammash have been living under regular police harassment and constant threat of losing their homes in their village, which has been “unrecognized” by the State of Israel since 1948. Residents of Dhammash are Israeli citizens and pay taxes, but do not receive any services as the state refuses to acknowledge their presence. The Electronic Intifada has reported on the situation for Palestinians inside Dhammash and the adjacent segregated city of Lydd, where recent demolitions of Palestinian homes have left entire families homeless.

A disturbing look at Israel's treatment of Palestinian children from inside a military court. - MECA

By Aya Kaniuk and Tamar Goldschmidt, Translation by Tal Haran

True, in the military courtroom itself Palestinians are neither shot nor beaten. They are not targeted for elimination nor even sentenced to death. At least not in the courtroom. But the military court is also the place where all illusions die. And hopes. Because that is where Palestinians learn that injury caused them, is no error, nor misunderstanding, but a matter of policy.

That is where they learn that law regarding Palestinians is nothing short of another kind of weapon. One of many. Among the tanks and planes and cluster bombs and checkpoints and Separation Wall and white phosphorus and the IDF spokesman. The military court is the end of ends. The last judgment. The final accusation, a-priori, of Palestinians only because they are Palestinians.

And courtroom number 2, where children are put on trial, is the place beyond that end. The place where all the words end.

Only two family members are allowed to come to the trial. This is usually the only time they can come and see their son, and they do. Time after time. They may bring cigarettes and money for the long day awaiting them. Nothing else. Not even medication, or tissues, or food, or a book or a newspaper. We, visitors who are not Palestinian, are allowed to bring in a notebook and pen. But not tissues. We have no privileges concerning tissues.

Perhaps because tissues are evidence that there is something to cry over, and the State of Israel is not willing to name its own deeds at the end of which lies weeping. And its necessity is the evidence and the visibility of that which Israel is not willing to name, that and the anticipated weeping. Perhaps that is why tissues are not allowed in court.

One man managed to smuggle in a roll of toilet paper despite the order forbidding tissues. Apparently deep in his clothes he dared to hide toilet paper, soft as tissues. Now he moved from woman to woman, handing out bits of toilet paper to every single one of them, all the mothers, so they would have it ready for the tears when they would come. When he handed it to us as well we were ashamed, because we have no spouses or sons in jail. And because the man only had one roll of paper, we felt uneasy that we were getting some at the expense of someone else.

Finally we were lucky to have gotten it. Because all that remains in this accursed place is to weep. The warmth of the wet, salty tears is the only possibly warmth inside this sinister ticking mechanism that no word could encompass or cover.

Courtroom number 2. The children's court. Every Monday. On the podium, judge Sharon Rivlin Ahai. From 9 a.m. until to 6 p.m. Boy follows boy. One child and then another child. Wearing brown prison garb. Chained feet. Shackled hands, one hand shackled to that of another boy. Some of them are so small that their feet wave in the air when they are seated on the bench. Some of them are so small that our eyes look away. Most of them are accused of throwing stones. Molotov cocktails. Most of them are not released on bail, have not been interrogated in the presence of an adult parent or social worker. Most of them were picked up in the dead of night. All these are violations of the international law in defense of children, even those under occupation. Most of them were arrested following denunciation, mostly by some other child, who like them was taken in the dead of night because someone else gave in his name. And most of them confessed, if not immediately then later on, to anything they were told to admit.

The prosecutor speaks, then the judge, the defense, the interpreter, the judge once again, and then Tareq Mohammad's father writes on the palm of his hand their home phone number to make sure that his 13-year-old son remembers and knows it. The mother cries, so does the child. In custody now for three and a half months. For throwing stones. His remand has been extended seven or eight times already. And the next court session is scheduled for January 3rd. The father signals him to get his hair cut, to be strong, to be a man. I don't want to be here were the last words the boy said before being led out, and the mother covered her face.

Another two children are led into the courtroom. They are seated next to each other. The warden unshackles their hands. Their feet remain chained.

One of the boys is Bilal Sami Matar, 14 years old, in custody for half a year already. Twenty-one children and youth were caught that night in the Qalandiya refugee camp, including him. Some boy gave their names in.

That is how it usually happens. A child is arrested for one reason or another. And he is told, give us fifteen names and we'll let you go. First he says, no way. Eventually he gives them names. Usually they are the names of boys he knows, his age, sometimes of boys he'd never met, in order to supply the required number. And already the deal is made between the prosecution and the defense, and with it the corrected indictment sheet.

Because in the end he confesses like everyone else, regardless of whether or not he actually committed the deeds of which he is accused. After all, even if he did, how could the occupation forces know whether he threw a stone or not? Only because someone said so?

Apparently, all this does not matter much. The main thing is the power that tramples. That there are more means to recruit collaborators. The main thing is to brutalize. To crush. To intimidate. Not as a means but as an end.

First reading of the plea for sentencing is postponed until January 10th. No one objects. Not even the child. He is not listening anyway. Nor are his parents. They only devour the last moments of grace to look at each other and exchange a few more words, for this is the only time they see each other and has been so for months, and anyway, everything takes place regardless of the boy or his actual deeds.

How are things at home? The boy asks his parents. Well practiced at speaking from meters away, as long as the policeman will not keep them from looking at each other.

Everything's fine, Bilal's mother mouths expansively so the child can read her lips.

Are you studying? Asks the father in his authoritative voice.

Every day, Bilal answers.

Say hello to everyone, he says before being pushed again through the back door by the warden, blows them a kiss and vanishes.

Outside in the hall his mother breaks into tears.

Another two boys are brought in. One name is read aloud, Mu'amin Omar Asad. He stands up, this and that is said, something nearly identical to what was just said before and will be said again and again, about having thrown, hurled, prepared, wanted, meant, demonstrated, as the young denouncer had said.

Then the interpreter presents Mu'amin with the indictment sheet which he takes in his hand. Another Hebrew form, one of many he's received since his arrest, signing them without a notion of what they say. After receiving the form, the hand of the 14 year old automatically points to his parents seated a few meters away, and suddenly freezes, stops.

Until not very long ago he would always bring home to mother any certificate or trouble or duty or some such. His frozen hand remains in the air for a moment, then retreats and returns to his lap, the form is released from his slack fingers, his parents faces are ashen.

Does not plead guilty. For the time being.

The next court session is set in two weekstime.

Boy after boy enters, their names are read, they rise, then sit, then another court date is set, or a plea bargain. The interpreter speaks, the prosecutor, the judge, the defense lawyer. The eyes of mother and son are locked. Don't forget to pray, the father tells the child. Yes, the boy nods his head, his lips pursed tight, their murmurs trying to cross the distance. Last moments of grace in this encounter. Soon the baby will return into the darkness. The mother cries over his wearing such a thin shirt. Enough, the boy dismisses her with a smile, trying to look grown up and brave. Then he is told to rise. Words that tear the air and the skin and the heart. And he rises. His parents eyes dwell for another moment on the chain between his feet which they repressed earlier on, he holds out little hands, adept, the policeman shackles one of them and connects the other to another prisoner, together they are led outside.

Twenty three children and youths were brought into court that day. Most of them confessed to the deeds attributed to them already in their first interrogation. Or the second, at the latest. Few confessed only in the courtroom itself. The few who do not plead guilty at first usually do later on. They confess because they are frightened. Threatened. Because they are children. Because a verdict on the basis of denunciation is very difficult to refute. Especially because the military court regards denunciation as a fact. And if they confess, so they are told, then their prison sentence will be lightened, and sometimes they will only be sentenced to the number of months they have already spent in custody, several months, the months they already spent as part of the system. And after all, this court does not seek the truth, nor could it with such means.

And if they don't confess, they're told, they will likely spend much more time in jail.

So they confess.

Most of the time.

It is hard to say what it is about this terrible place that is worse than others. Which darkness is darker, more painful. Is it the mothers and their broken hearts? Or the helplessness of the father whose child is abandoned, and he has not the power to protect him. Or the horror of the little ones, the feeling that this is a sold game in which no one cares for the truth, be it as it may, because this system does not enable one to find out the truth. That this is not really a court, but only another tool of occupation. Where Palestinians are guilty unless proven otherwise. Even if proven otherwise. Guilty because they are Palestinians.

Is it the unbearable serial sense of a child and then another and another, and the empty eyes of the various forces of occupation. The attractive soldier girl, with her long groomed hair who stands right in between the mother and boy so they cannot see each other, or exchange a few words while their fate is cast. Their fate that has nothing to do with them or with who they are, but only with what they are. And the policeman, his gaze lazy and empty, most of the time looking to see if he got any messages on his cell phone, while next to him fates are determined, transparent like his victims. Or is it the judge with her pleasant face, who does not cry to high heaven, does not tear at her hair and feel ashamed nor protest what she is doing in the service of her country.

How she stands silent in view of these strange plea bargains, 13-year-old children who perhaps threw a stone, and perhaps not, because that's what their denouncers said, who are but children like them taken in the dead of night. Or not wondering that everyone confesses, that months go by until the verdict is given, that they are not released on bail, that they sit in prison until the end of the proceedings, three, four, six, eight months and more, no matter what the accusation is, no matter that it's a child. That there are no innocents, ever. That every voice of an army man is crystal-clear fact. And every incriminating testimony, too, crystal clear. But not denial. Denial is not crystal clear, ever. Nor the claim that confession was obtained by force. That I signed something I did not understand. That I was afraid. That I was beaten up. That I did not do it. No.

I did not do it.

Even when it comes to children.

And their denying words are regarded as ridiculous, a superfluous waste of time, and mostly changing when the child and his parents learn that no matter what he did, or did not do, his fate is sealed. And that the system does not enable him to defend himself. That it is better to confess. And indeed this is what he usually does.

And so child after child. Everything seems reasonable to her, and to the rest of those judges. Eight months, and six, and once again having to pay 5,000 shekels.

This fine that is always eventually charged. More and more money to be paid by those who don't have any to begin with. Or else their son will sit another few months, as many as the thousands of shekels that were required in payment.

A child arrives wearing a short-sleeved shirt, shivering with cold. Apparently he is fifteen but looks younger. Does not know who his lawyer is. No parents. Bites his fingernails. Sucks his thumb. His look is scattered and scared. He is accused of having thrown stones. Attorney Samara volunteers to take him on.

I request the postponement of this case in order to complete it by the 13th of next month, says the judge. Three weeks from today. And the defendant gives his parents phone number to the lawyer.

The policeman has already shackled the child who rises and stands to be led out again, and the judge asks resentfully, why is he not dressed, just such a light shirt in this cold weather? How could this be?

Her pitying voice is not directed at anyone in particular.

Indeed, one should resent and hurt the fact that he is cold, your honor. But why just this? What about their having come in the dead of night to pick him up? That he has not seen a lawyer until now? That there was no adult present at his interrogation? That his parents have not been informed of his whereabouts? That he was arrested on the basis of denunciation? That he was not released on bail? That he has been in custody for months before his trial began?

And if he did throw stones, how would you know? Is this the way to find out? Can one find out at all?

And if he did, your honor, is this what he deserves?

Would this happen, your honor, were this a Jewish child who threw stones?

The picture below shows two Israeli soldiers from the so called border police unit capturing Palestinian child Mahmoud Al Abbasi, 10 years old from the East of the occupied city of Jerusalem, on January 21 2011.

Please try to find an answer to the questions below by writing to the so-called Israeli Embassy in your country and to the Israeli occupation spokespersons (their e-mail addresses are below), and to your elected representatives.

Do you think that the soldiers seen in the picture below belong to the human race? Do you think these are soldiers or monsters? Do you think that capturing and terrorizing children is a war crime? What descriptions that can be given of a state which feels powerful when its soldiers terrorize children? What would you do if your son was the child who cries and screaming between the steel hands of these monsters?

What do you do if you knew that your tax money was being used for the benefit of the monsters in the pictures above and below.

Did you know that the Defence for Children International in Palestine sent out on January 6 2011 an appeal concerning the jailing of three children, Muslim Mosa Ode, age of 10, Adam Mansour Al-Rishiq, age of 7, and Imran Mohammad Mansour 11, who were jailed by the monsters in the picture above and their colleagues?

Imran was jailed after being run over by a criminal settlers in Jerusalem.

Muslim O. On 18 October 2010, a 10-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reported having being grabbed and beaten by three men in civilian clothes and taken to the Al-Mascobiyya interrogation centre for questioning. Under Israeli law, a child below the age of 12 should not be interrogated.

Imran 11

Mahmoud Al Abbasi 10

Mohammad G. On 25 October 2010, a 12-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem reported being grabbed and beaten by a policeman on his way to school and then taken to the Al-Mascobiyya interrogation centre for questioning.

Adam R. On 24 November 2010, a seven-year-old boy from Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem reported being beaten by soldiers on his way to school. The experience has made Adam fearful of leaving his home.

Urgent Appeal

Incident: Arrest of children Violation of rightsLocation: Silwan, occupied East JerusalemDate of incidents: October to December 2010Number of incidents: 24 (cases documented by DCI-Palestine)Ages: 7 to 17 yearsAccusation: Stone throwingDate of issue: 6 January 2011

Muslim O. On 18 October 2010, a 10-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reports being grabbed and beaten by three men in civilian clothes, and taken to Al-Mascobiyya interrogation centre for questioning. Under Israeli law, a child below the age of 12 should not be interrogated.

Mohammad G. On 25 October 2010, a 12-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reports being grabbed and beaten by a policeman on his way to school, and taken to Al-Mascobiyya interrogation centre for questioning.

Adam R. On 24 November 2010, a seven-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reports being beaten by soldiers on his way to school. The experience has made Adam fearful of leaving his home.

Background information

The neighbourhood of Silwan is situated just outside the Old City walls of Jerusalem, located in the occupied east of the city. Approximately 16,500 Palestinians live in the central section of the neighbourhood. Although accepted as occupied territory under international law, Israel purported to annex the east of the city after occupation in 1967, and applies its own domestic law to the territory.

The annexation has no legal validity under international law, and is not recognised outside Israel. According to the UN, Silwan has become one of the main centres of Israeli settlement activity and is currently home to 380 settlers, who live in properties taken over by various means from their original Palestinian residents.

According to the UN, Palestinian residents of Silwan report harassment and intimidation by the settlers and their security guards, and clashes between residents and soldiers and police are frequent. On 21 June 2010, the Jerusalem Municipality's Planning and Building Committee approved a plan to demolish 22 Palestinian houses in Silwan to make way for an archaeological garden.

In 2010, reports of a sharp increase in the number of children being arrested from Silwan and East Jerusalem have been recorded. According to Israel Police figures, between November 2009 and October 2010, the Jerusalem District opened 1,267 criminal files against Palestinian children living in East Jerusalem who were accused of throwing stones. During the same period, the Israeli NGO, B'Tselem reports that 81 children from Silwan have been arrested or detained for questioning, mostly on suspicion of stone throwing.

On 24 November 2010, 60 prominent Israeli professionals wrote to Prime Minister Netanyahu, and other senior officials raising their concerns about the violent treatment of Palestinian children in occupied East Jerusalem.

The letter states thatchildren and teenagers related that they had been dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night or arrested in their neighbourhoods by undercover detectives and special security forces; taken in for questioning while handcuffed and unescorted by their parents; in certain cases, the families were not notified of the arrest in real time; minors were asked to give names and incriminate friends and relatives as a condition of their release; were threatened and humiliated by their interrogators; and some of them were even subject to physical violence while taken in for questioning and under interrogation.

In the three months between October and December 2010, DCI-Palestine has investigated 24 cases from Silwan, and collected 18 sworn affidavits, 15 of which were taken from children. In two out of the 15 cases, the children were not arrested. In one of these cases, the child was beaten and then immediately released by soldiers, and in the other case, an 11-year-old boy was struck in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet. The ages of these children range from 7 to 17 years.

Specific violations

Based on the evidence collected by DCI-Palestine, the violations against the children of Silwan include, but are not limited to, the following:

Interrogation of children under 12 years - (8 percent):

- Under Israeli law which is applied to occupied East Jerusalem, children under the age of 12 are not held criminally liable for their actions and must not be detained. Out of the 13 cases in which DCI-Palestine collected sworn affidavits from children who were arrested, one child (8 percent) was under 12.

Since the beginning of 2010, B'Tselem, has documented the detention of four children below this age. Violence during arrest, transfer or interrogation (76 percent):

- The types of violence reported to DCI-Palestine includes, punching, slapping, kicking, beating with a rifle, and in one case, throwing a pen at a child's head during interrogation.

A soldier started hitting me on the back with the barrel of his rifle and I screamed out in pain and said to him: I didn't do anything. But he kept hitting me for about a minute when my mother came and started shouting: Leave him alone, he must go to work. But one of them pushed her really hard and knocked her down. (A. G. 16 years)

They put me inside the jeep and one of them started kicking me all over my body and slapping me until we arrived at Al Mascobiyya. (B. R. 13 years)

In total, out of the 13 cases in which DCI-Palestine collected sworn affidavits from children who were arrested, 10 children (76 percent) reported some form of physical violence during their arrest, transfer or interrogation. Violence in similar circumstances has also recently been reported by B'Tselem.

Painful hand ties (61 percent):

- Under section 10B of the Youth (Trial, Punishment and Modes of Treatment) Law, alternatives to restraints should always be considered and they should not be used beyond what is strictly necessary. Restraints should only be used to prevent escape or to prevent harm to others.

The interrogator left me alone in the room with my hands still tied behind my back. I was feeling pain because the ties were very tight. I kept trying to move my fingers so that the blood could run through them. I stayed alone in the room for about three hours and no one came in or brought me food or water. (I.O. 17 years)

In total, out of the 13 cases in which DCI-Palestine collected sworn affidavits from children who were arrested, eight children (61 percent) reported having their hands tied. These figures are similar to data collected by B'Tselem, in which 14 out of 22 children (63 percent) reported having their hands tied. Many children report pain and swelling in their hands from the use of restraints.

Interrogated in the absence of a parent (53 percent):

- Under Israeli law which is applied to occupied East Jerusalem, parents are entitled to be present during the interrogation of their children, except in special limited cases. Out of the 13 cases in which DCI-Palestine collected sworn affidavits from children who were arrested on suspicion of throwing stones, five children (38 percent) were interrogated in the absence of their parents, and a further two children (15 percent) were questioned without their parents being present for at least part of the interrogation.

In one such case, a 12-year-old boy reported as follows:

When my father left the office, I felt scared and focused my eyes on the floor. You think the Israeli intelligence is joking here? I'll lock you up and you'll never see your family ever again, the interrogator shouted at me. He got up, approached me, and slapped me across the face and I kept my head down, while placing my hand over my face so that he wouldn't slap me again. (M. O. 12 years)

In total, out of 13 cases, seven children (53 percent) were interrogated for some time in the absence of their parents, during which time they report being threatened, and in some cases, assaulted. The interrogation of children in the absence of their parents has also recently been reported by B'Tselem.

Threatened during interrogation (53 percent):

- The types of threats reported to DCI-Palestine typically involved a threat to imprison the child for a long time.

It's better you talk or I'll slap you and knock you down, he said. (I. M. 12 years) Listen, I'll put you in jail for a long time if you don't confess and you'll never see your family ever again, what do you think of that? he said. (Y.J. 14 years) The interrogator didn't read me my rights. He interrogated me in Arabic.

Why did you throw stones at Jews in Silwan? he asked. Because they want to take our house, I said. Who was with you? he asked. I don't know them, I said. Then we'll put you in jail for a long time, he said. Do whatever pleases you, I said. (A.H. 14 years)

In total, out of 13 cases, seven children (53 percent) reported being threatened during interrogation. This figure corresponds exactly with the percentage of cases in which children were interrogated in the absence of their parents.

Recommended action Please send Urgent Appeals in relation to the arrest and detention of children in Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem, urging the following:

1. The immediate end to the use of violence by the Israeli army and police during the arrest of children;

2. No child should be interrogated in the absence of their parents;

3. All credible allegations of ill-treatment must be thoroughly and impartially investigated and those found responsible for such abuse be brought promptly to justice; and

4. The immediate removal of all Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem as they violate international law and are a source of constant tension.

Appeals to:

Your elected representatives;

The Israeli embassy in your country [list of Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide]. Please inform DCI-Palestine if you receive any response to your appeals and quote the UA number at the top of this document ria@dci-pal.org

The Israeli military court at the Ofer detention center extended the detention period of 14-year-old Islam Saleh Tamimi, to almost three months.

The child, from the central West Bank village of An-Nabi Saleh, was detained from his home at 2am on the morning of 24 January. Local activist groups said he was taken to a police station and interrogated without his parents or a lawyer present and later beaten.

The court decision was handed down after the child's family refused a suggested plea bargain that they said would have seen their son exiled from his home and sent to stay with relatives who hold Israeli identity cards.

He would have to remain under house arrest in the new location, the family said. The release also asked for a 10,000 shekel ($2,718) fine.

The village popular committee said the proposal exposed the "rudeness" of the Israeli military and the "occupation's lack of humanity."

In its weekly cabinet meeting, the West Bank government condemned the Israeli proposition, saying the child was to have been deported to Ramallah, along with his family.

The family was to have rented a home in the city and installed a phone line, "so that the occupation officer is able to call the child and ensure his presence at home," the cabinet said in a statement.

In its attempt to force the relocation of the family and keep the child on house arrest, the cabinet called the Israeli decision "shameful and reflects the repressive policy and illegal practices of the occupation, which contravene human rights, especially children's rights."

Israeli forces psychologically tortured a 14-year-old Palestinian detained in a night raid on his Ramallah village, a local rights group said.

Islam Tamami was detained on 23 January from his home in Nabi Saleh, a village which holds weekly anti-wall rallies to protest Israel's confiscation of residents' land.

He was taken to a police station and interrogated without his parents or a lawyer present, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said.

Soldiers used psychological torture to extract false testimony about demonstrations in his village during an eight hour interrogation, PSCC reported.

Tamimi's lawyers requested access to the boy immediately after his request, but this was not granted until after five hours of interrogation, the committee said.

The boy is still in Israeli detention, despite appeals from his defense for his immediate release due to the unlawful conduct of the police and military.

A military judge on Tuesday refused a request to transfer him to house arrest, committee spokesman Joseph Dana said.

The committee says residents of the village, including children, have been subject to countless injuries, arrests and collective punishment. It says the army's campaign is an attempt to crush the village's non-violent protests against the wall.

DCI: Army detained 7,000 Palestinian children detained since 2000

On Saturday, Defence for Children International said Israel's military had detained around 7,000 Palestinian children since 2000.

In its annual report, submitted to the United Nations, DCI said it was rare for children, or their parents, to be told the reason for the arrest or where the children would be taken.

The arrests were frequently carried out by heavily armed soldiers in the middle of the night, the report said, and children were usually handcuffed and blindfolded before being taken away in a military vehicle.

"The arrest and transfer process is frequently accompanied by physical and verbal abuse," DCI reported.

"Children are frequently threatened and physically assaulted during interrogation often resulting in the provision of a coerced confession, or the signing of documents which the child has not had a chance to read or understand."

DCI noted that children as young as 12 were tried in military courts, and said most children ultimately plead guilty "whether the offence was committed or not, as this is the quickest way out of the system."

Further, Israeli military courts impose sentences on most children detained.

"In 2009, custodial sentences were imposed on children by the military courts in 83 percent of cases, in contrast to a custodial sentence rate of 6.5 percent in the Israeli civilian juvenile justice system," DCI found.